Ted R.
Yelp
Food: 4
Service: No table service, counter only
Ambiance: 5.0
Value: 2.5
I wanted to show you my specific ratings for Saturday Dumpling, since I have mixed feelings about it.
The place is cute and very trendy looking. If you are looking for a hip, happening place, Saturday Dumpling fits the bill. Self-order kiosk, check; Limited menu board; check, trendy vibe; check; environmental, check.
I know that Saturday Dumpling has had rave reviews for their dumplings and I have no complaints about the food. I enjoyed the dumplings. My wife's order of pork and cabbage was very good and I had the "collaboration with Diane's Place" special with Hmong Sausage. It comes with your choice of dipping sauce and we both got the ginger scallion sauce. The dumplings (six per order) come with a pickled coleslaw and pickles, which was very tasty.
Limited Variety: At the restaurant, the dumpling varieties are very limited. In fact, there are only four options, one of which is a rotating special. For frozen (take home or buy in a store), it looks like there are six options.
Value
Despite a very positive review above, I will not return to Saturday dumpling because I consider it a very bad value. Keep in mind, that the dumpling prices are about twice as much as their frozen dumplings. If you have only purchased the frozen ones and had them at home, it might seem like a good value to you.
At the restaurant, we ordered two dumpling platters of six each. The only other thing we ordered was two cans of pop. Keep in mind, although they don't have tipping, they also have zero service (you order at the counter, pick up the food yourself, and bus your own table), so this should not be touted as a discount. For the two order of dumplings plus two cans of pop, we paid exactly $42.00 for lunch. I think $22 a person for lunch for this kind and quantity of food at a self-serve restaurant is really excessive and represents a very poor value proposition. Also, in my opinion, you should at least be able to order at the counter and interact with a human being. However, at Saturday Dumpling, the only way to order and pay is at a kiosk.
I try to put more emphasis on food in my restaurant reviews, but I also want to talk about value because (in my opinion), they both have to be rated highly for me to want to return to the restaurant.